Excerpt of Romancing His Rival by Jennifer Shirk

After dashing through the snow in a three-hour car ride up the mountains with "Feliz Navidad" playing in what seemed like a continuous loop on the radio, Elena Mason was officially done with Christmas.And it was only December first.

She finally pulled into the condo parking lot, and of
course, there were no spots near her unit. The lot was most
likely jam-packed with would-be skiers, so she had to park
two rows away. Good thing she planned ahead and wore her
snow boots.

Her good friend and wedding planner, Arden Roberts, had just organized a wedding for a woman who was on her way to Aruba this week on her honeymoon. In thanks, she had given Arden full access to her condo in the Pennsylvania Pocono Mountains. Arden had meant well, granting Elena the use of the condo because she knew she needed a getaway. Or at least, she'd insisted Elena needed one. Elena wasn't so sure. Right now, she was ready to just go home.

But then again, she wasn't the type to look a gift condo in
the mouth, so she pulled on her mittens and readied herself
for a hike through the snow.

At least Elena had brought her sketch pad to help her relax.
Arden had suggested she try ice skating (not likely) or do
some skiing (even less likely) or just simply relax to get
her mind off her canceled wedding, which would have been
December twenty-first (still working on that one).

Seven months and fifteen days ago, her fiancé, Scott, had
suddenly called off their wedding. It still tore Elena up to
think about it. She and Scott were so good together. She'd
been so happy. And why wouldn't she have been happy? She was
finally going to have the kind of perfect marriage her
parents had. Scott was handsome, caring, and a financial
planner just like her dad had been. He even proposed in the
same way her dad had proposed to her mom: on top of the
Empire State Building.

Coincidence? She thought not.

Scott was the perfect man. Actually, everything had been perfect. Right down to her dress, reception, and home they were going to buy together. Until the best man—Lucas Albright III—and his big fat opinionated mouth had to go and ruin her life. The cad. If she never saw him again in her lifetime, it'd be way too soon.

Lucas had planted some kind of crazy notion in Scott's head
that she wouldn't make a good "executive wife." He trusted
Lucas more than anyone, which was why Lucas had Scott all of
a sudden questioning their compatibility and then eventually
their engagement. So what if she didn't have a college
degree or couldn't talk finance?

The wind stung her cheeks as she lugged her belongings
across the parking lot and up to the icy doorstep. Snow was
still falling pretty hard, which made the trek all the more
precarious with her hands full. Once she reached the door,
she set down her bags and pulled the house keys from her
pocket, double-checking the address written on the keychain.

This was the place all right.

Hmm…not bad. But based on the "Happy Easter" wreath adorning
the door, she assumed the condo hadn't been used in quite a
while. She prayed the heater worked. Not quite the vacation
getaway she or her friends envisioned, but a lot of her
money was still tied up in down payments she'd placed for
her wedding, so she didn't have a lot of options as far as
vacations went this year. Unfortunately, she still held onto
hope that Scott would realize how much he couldn't live
without her, which was why she hadn't been fighting too hard
yet to get her money back.

She took a deep breath then nudged the door open, bracing herself for what she'd find inside. Whew. At least it didn't smell funky. Tossing her belongings into the foyer, she then shook the snow from her boots before walking into the living room and having a look around. And for the first time in almost eight months, Elena actually wanted to smile.

The place was charming. A large comfy-looking sectional with
lots of furry throw pillows filled the sitting area. A wall
of windows offered a lovely view of the snow-covered ski
slopes and—bonus!—there were two built-in bookshelves
overflowing with books. Elena quickly noted a few written by
Nora Roberts on the shelf and decided that maybe this little
getaway was turning out much better than she'd anticipated.

Before she could check out the other rooms, her cell phone rang and she raced to the foyer to answer it. Maybe Scott has finally changed his mind!

No such luck. But she still smiled when she saw Arden's
picture pop up on the screen.

"Oh, I'm so glad you answered," Arden rushed out. "Kinsley
and I have been worried sick about you traveling in this
weather. We heard there's a winter storm warning in effect."

Elena unwound the scarf from around her neck as she spoke.
"Aw, you two are so sweet. I'm perfectly fine, but it sure
is nice to be worried about nowadays."

Sad, but true. At this point in her life, she'd never felt
so alone. With both her parents gone, being an only child,
no fiancé, and now the holidays rolling in, getting through
the month that should have been her honeymoon was going to
be a complete bear. Thank goodness she had her friends.

"Hush, girl. We're always concerned about you. And not just because of what Scott did. You're a wonderful, beautiful person who will find love again. You just need to be patient." Mm-hmm. Says the woman who recently married her high school crush.

Elena shook her head, even though she knew her newly married
and completely over-the-moon-in-love friend was trying to be
supportive and upbeat. "I don't want to find love again. I
already found love. And quite frankly, I just want it back."

Oops. She'd said it out loud.

Yes, poor, pathetic Elena was still in love with and wanted
the man back who, without warning, had broken her heart
along with their engagement. But it was the truth. She
desperately wanted Scott back. She wanted that part of her
life back. She hadn't been truly happy since.

Arden let out a sigh. "Honey, it's been a while. I don't
think you and Scott—"

"Anyway, I don't really want to talk about it right now,"
she said, carrying the grocery bag of food she'd brought
with her into the kitchen. It was depressing to hear the
pitying tone in her friend's voice. But the truth was, Arden
didn't understand. None of her friends did. They hadn't
grown up in a household of love like hers with such
wonderful and nurturing parents.

Was it wrong to want that kind of life for herself?

She hadn't realized how happy her life had been—until they'd
been in a terrible parasailing accident while they were on
vacation. She was left utterly alone at the young age of
twenty-two, and her life had begun to head in a downward
spiral of depression and emptiness.

Until six months later, when she'd met Scott. A time in her
life when she needed him most, so because of that, she'd
always think of him as her savior.

Scott Coban had come to town for a coworker's anniversary
party. And he just so happened to be staying the weekend at
the Harbor Light where she worked. Before that moment, love
at first sight was just something she'd read about in her
romance books. But it was real. She had experienced it
firsthand.

Scott had charmed her and asked for her number right away.
That night he'd ended up leaving the party early and
immediately called her to meet him for a drink which she'd
readily accepted. And the rest was history.

Until she became history.

No thanks to Scott's friend and would-be best man, Lucas
Albright.

"I'm sorry," Arden said, breaking into Elena's morose
thoughts. "I just don't want you getting your hopes up for
no real tangible reason, that's all."

"I'm not getting my hopes up." My hopes are already up. "I mean, sure, I guess it's possible you two could get back together. But, honey, the reason we wanted you to take this vacation was to get your mind off Scott. You know, like a Scottcation."

Elena pulled out a bottle of red wine, then another for good
measure, and nodded. If that failed, she had plenty of
chocolate and tequila as a backup. "I will try my best."

"Great! And while you're at it, try not to think of that
Lucas Albright either."

The wine almost slipped from Elena's hand. "Now why on earth did you have to go and mention his name?"

"Oops, sorry. It's just that…well, I didn't want to mention
this before, but the condo you're staying in kind of belongs
to his sister, Michelle."

Elena sat on the nearest chair, fearing her legs would give
way. Of all the places she could have gone, it would have to
be tied to a man she wanted nothing to do with ever again in
her life. "You were smart not to mention that to me before.
I would have never come."

"Before you go torching the place in a fit of vengeance,"
Arden lectured, "please just try to remember that his sister
happens to be a very good client of mine and a sweet person."

She snorted. "Yeah, too bad she's related to the Spawn of
Voldemort," she grumbled back.

"Honestly, Elena, I've met Lucas, too, at her wedding, and I
have to say, I can't imagine him being the kind of person to
break up anyone's engagement."

"Well, he did. Scott told me so himself. And whose side are
you on anyway?"

"Yours! Always yours. I'm just playing devil's advocate."

"Are you finished playing?"

"I suppose so."

"Good," she said, ripping open the bag of marshmallows she'd
brought and popping one in her mouth. "Because let me tell
you something about Lucas Albright III. I don't know what
kind of snow job he laid on you, but I know for a fact that
he is a cold, insensitive man and a liar—not to mention a
terrible friend. And you can rest assured that nothing and
no one could ever possibly change my opinion about him."

…